An excellent article in the NY Times describes a global trend towards activism by generally young people, organized according to Internet principles (that is, democratic, decentralized and technology-smart) who are abandoning participation in their countries’ political systems in favor of street protest. The driving force, according to the article, is the widespread belief that political parties — all political parties — are so bound to moneyed interest groups that they no longer even try to represent their populations.

A typical comment:

“…[I]n India and Israel, where growth remains robust, protesters say they so distrust their country’s political class and its pandering to established interest groups that they feel only an assault on the system itself can bring about real change. “

The article mentions the Tea Party in the U.S. and the attempts of the Republican Party to assimilate the movement, also mentioning the purists’ attempts to prevent that very assimilation, which is seen as usurpation.